City In Legal Battle Over Lincoln Underpass

City of Yakima Facebook
Despite being completed in 2012 the Lincoln underpass is still forefront in the minds of city officials.

The Yakima Herald is reporting that the city has spent $300,000 in legal fees as they try to recoup the costs of overruns associated with the project. The city’s lawyers are accusing BergerABAM of negligence and incompetence.

BergerABAM performed soil testing and came up with a plan on how to handle the project, specifically how to seal the concrete to prevent moisture from ground water ruining the concrete. The Herald reports that the contractor chose an older, cheaper solution called permeation grouting.

The original plan ended up proving incapable of handling the groundwater and the project was delayed three months and ended up being more costly when it was decided to use concrete shafts under the roadways.

BergerABAM says city officials were involved in every step of the process and chose the more costly method to avoid any political cost after the work stoppage.

City Manager Tony O’Rourke disagrees with the assessment. He tells the Herald that he does not believe the taxpayers should be on the hook for the overruns.

The city has reorganized how they handle big projects and the MLK underpass is using the more proven method of concrete shafts.

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